“It’s great to have them in the team,” Morkel said of Prasidh and the team’s other specialist fast bowler, Harshit Rana. “I think they add a lot of variation to the attack, especially Harshit, who bowls at a good pace, finds a way to extract some bounce from the surface as well.
“It’s their first tour, Prasidh has had a bit of experience with India. A tour where he has had a bit of playing time, but for Harshit it’s a bit of an unknown. My message to him was just, when I did my first tour here , playing in Australia, an intimidating place, hearing the stories, taking their advice. But for me it’s just staying in your own bubble and finding those experiences, sorting them out yourself.
“[Reddy] is one of the young guys we mentioned, he has that kind of batting ability and all-rounder. He will be a guy who can hold that first one. He hits the bat a little harder than you think. So in these kind of conditions where there might be a little bit of movement in the seam at the front, especially in the early days. He will be a very accurate wicket-to-wicket bowler. It’s a great opportunity for him to maintain this versatile spot.
“Any team in the world has always wanted the all-rounder to ease the load on their fast bowlers, just to give them a little more time to breathe. So how we use it, how Jasprit will use it, perhaps with the spinner, to give himself, whoever else is fast, time to catch his breath, will be important. He’s a guy you can keep your eye on this series.
India’s batting could also depend on the passing of some of their younger players. There is a chance that the XI they field on Friday – if Devdutt Padikkal makes it to number three and Dhruv Jurel to number six – could be the youngest, in terms of combined age, to start a tour since the 1947 series in Australia.
“It’s going to be a great learning experience for these guys,” Morkel said. “It’s the youngsters who can stand up to a quality Test bowling pack. Australia aren’t going to throw a lot of bad balls at you, but in saying that, you know, there’s some good leadership within the group that can help and calm the nerves for that, so I think as a group we’re all excited about the challenge, we know what’s coming, we know the wicket will be fast, it will be bouncy and now it’s up to the individual to decide. formulate your game plans and get into a battle mental state that the next 43 days are going to be tough cricket.
India hoping for Gill’s form
“Shubman is improving every day, obviously he received a bad blow in the simulated game, in the selection game. I think with him it will be a daily process, fingers crossed for this improvement, but I think they will wait, [and not] call him until the morning of the day [match].”
Gill was present at training on Wednesday, but that was the extent of his participation, even with the rest of the squad training at full tilt in the sun. He just hung out with Rishabh Pant for a while and then left. The chances of him playing in Perth in two days’ time are still slim. Padikkal, who has been added to the squad now after being asked to stay in Australia following his work with the India A team, is becoming the provisional third batsman.
Alagappan Muthu is sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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